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Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a 1937 American animated musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. Based on the German fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm, it is the first full-length cel animated feature film and the earliest in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series. The story was adapted by storyboard artists Dorothy Ann Blank, Richard Creedon, Merrill De Maris, Otto Englander, Earl Hurd, Dick Rickard, Ted Sears and Webb Smith. David Hand was the supervising director, while William Cottrell, Wilfred Jackson, Larry Morey, Perce Pearce and Ben Sharpsteen directed the film's individual sequences. Snow White ''premiered at the Carthay Circle Theatre on December 21, 1937, followed by a nationwide release on February 4, 1938, and with international earnings of 8 million dollars during its initial release briefly assumed the record of highest grossing sound film at the time. The popularity of the film has led to it being re-released theatrically many times, until its home video release in the 1990s. Adjusted for inflation, it is one of the top ten performers at the North American box office. At the 11th Academy Awards, Walt Disney was awarded an honorary Oscar, and the was nominated for Best Musical Score the year before. In 1989, the United States Library of Congress deemed the film ''culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant and selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry and is ranked in the American Film Institute's list of the 100 greatest American films, who also named the film as the greatest American animated film of all time in 2008. Disney's take on the fairytale has had a huge cultural impact, resulting in popular theme park attractions, a video game and a Broadway musical. Plot Snow White is a lonely princess living with her stepmother, a vain and wicked Queen. The Queen fears that Snow White's beauty surpasses her own, so she forces Snow White to work as a scullery maid and asks her Magic Mirror daily who is the fairest one of all. For several years the mirror always answered that the Queen was, pleasing her. One day, the Magic Mirror informs the Queen that Snow White is now the fairest in the land. The jealous Queen orders her Huntsman to take Snow White into the forest and kill her. She further demands that the huntsman return with Snow White's heart in a jeweled box as proof of the deed. However, the Huntsman cannot bring himself to kill Snow White. He tearfully begs for her forgiveness, revealing the Queen wants her dead, and urges her to flee into the woods and never look back. Lost and frightened, the princess is befriended by woodland creatures who lead her to a cottage deep in the woods. Finding seven small chairs in the cottage's dining room, Snow White assumes the cottage is the untidy home of seven orphaned children. In reality, the cottage belongs to seven adult dwarfs, named Doc, Grumpy, Happy, Sleepy, Bashful, Sneezy and Dopey, who work in a nearby mine. Returning home, they are alarmed to find their cottage clean and suspect that an intruder has invaded their home. The dwarfs find Snow White upstairs, asleep across three of their beds. Snow White awakes to find the dwarfs at her bedside and introduces herself, and all of the dwarfs eventually welcome her into their home after they learn she can cook and clean beautifully. Snow White keeps house for the dwarfs while they mine for jewels during the day, and at night they all sing, play music and dance. Meanwhile, the Queen discovers that Snow White is still alive when the mirror again answers that Snow White is the fairest in the land and reveals that the heart in the jeweled box is actually that of a pig. Using magic to disguise herself as an old hag, the Queen creates a poisoned apple that will put whoever eats it into the Sleeping Death, a curse that can only be broken by love's first kiss, but dismisses that Snow White will be buried alive. The Queen goes to the cottage while the dwarfs are away, but the animals are wary of her and rush off to find the dwarfs. The Queen tricks Snow White into biting into the poisoned apple. As Snow White falls asleep the Queen proclaims that she is now the fairest of the land. The dwarfs return with the animals as the Queen leaves the cottage and give chase, trapping her on a cliff. She tries to roll a boulder over them but before she can do so, lightning strikes the cliff, causing her to fall to her death. The dwarfs return to their cottage and find Snow White seemingly dead, being kept in a deathlike slumber by the potion. Unwilling to bury her out of sight in the ground, they instead place her in a glass coffin trimmed with gold in a clearing in the forest. Together with the woodland creatures, they keep watch over her. A year later, a prince, who had previously met and fallen in love with Snow White, learns of her eternal sleep and visits her coffin. Saddened by her apparent death, he kisses her, which breaks the spell and awakens her. The dwarfs and animals all rejoice as the Prince takes Snow White to his castle. Cast * Adriana Caselotti as Snow White: Snow White is a young princess. She is the daughter of a great king whose wife died when the daughter was very young. Her wicked stepmother has forced her to work as a scullery maid in the castle. Despite this, she retains a cheerful but naive demeanor. * Lucille La Verne as Evil Queen/Witch: The Queen is the stepmother of Snow White. Once her magic mirror tells her that Snow White is fairer than she is, she immediately enlists the Huntsman to kill her in the woods. After she discovers that Snow White did not die, she disguises herself as an old hag and uses a poisoned apple to remove Snow White from her path without killing her. * Harry Stockwell as the Prince. The prince first sees Snow White singing at her wishing well. He immediately falls in love with her and her voice. He later reappears to revive her. * Roy Axwell as Doc: The leader of the seven dwarfs, Doc wears glasses and often mixes up his words. * Pinto Colvig as Grumpy and Sleepy in a dual role: Grumpy initially disapproves of Snow White's presence in the dwarfs' home, but later warns her of the threat posed by the Queen and rushes to her aid upon realizing that she is in danger, leading the charge himself. He has the biggest nose of the dwarfs, and is frequently seen with one eye shut, Sleepy is always tired and appears laconic in most situations. * Otis Harlan as Happy: Happy is the joyous dwarf and is usually portrayed laughing. * Scotty Mattraw as Bashful: Bashful is the shyest of the dwarfs, and is often embarrassed by the presence of any attention directed at him. * Billy Gilbert as Sneezy: Sneezy's name is earned by his extraordinarily powerful sneezes (caused by hay fever), which are seen blowing even the heaviest of objects across a room. * Eddie Collins as Dopey (vocal effects and live-action reference only): Dopey is the only dwarf who does not have a beard. He is clumsy and mute, with Happy explaining that he has simply never tried to speak. In the movie's trailer, Walt Disney describes Dopey as nice, but sort of silly. * Moroni Olsen as the magic Mirror: The Slave of the magic Mirror appears as a green mask in clouds of smoke. The Queen regularly asks him who is the fairest in the land. * Stuart Buchanan as the Huntsman: Despite his status as the Queen's assassin, the Huntsman cannot bear to kill Snow White, even when the Queen orders him to take the princess' heart. Songs * I'm Wishing (sung by Adriana Caselotti and Harry Stockwell) * One Song (sung by Harry Stockwell and Chorus at the end) * With a Smile and a Song (sung by Adriana Caselotti) * Whistle While You Work (sung by Adriana Caselotti and Marion Darlington) * Heigh-Ho (sung by Roy Attwell, Pinto Colvig, Billy Gilbert, Otis Harlan and Scotty Mattraw) * Bluddle-uddle-um-um (Dwarfs' Washing and Yodel Song) (sung by Roy Attwell, Eddie Collins, Billy Gilbert, Otis Harlan and Scotty Mattraw) * The Silly Song (sung by Roy Attwell, Adriana Caselotti, Pinto Colvig, Billy Gilbert, Otis Harlan, Scotty Mattraw and James MacDonald) * Someday My Prince Will Come (sung and reprised by Adriana Caselotti) International premieres * United States: December 21, 1937 * Argentina: January 22, 1938 * United Kingdom: February 24, 1938 * Belgium: March 26, 1938 * Canada: April 5, 1938 * France: May 6, 1938 * Australia: June 2, 1938 * China: June 2: 1938 * Uruguay: June 28, 1938 * Ireland: July 8, 1938 * Mexico: July 21, 1938 * Italy: August 24, 1938 * Brazil: September 5, 1938 * Norway: September 12, 1938 * Czechoslovakia: September 16, 1938 * Sweden: September 27, 1938 * Denmark: September 29, 1938 * Croatia: October 1, 1938 * Yugoslavia: October 1, 1938 * Finland: October 16, 1938 * Algeria: October 31, 1938 * Slovenia: November 10, 1938 * Netherlands: November 11, 1938 * Portugal: December 12, 1938 * Switzerland: December 17, 1938 * Poland: December 21, 1938 * Turkey: December 21, 1938 * Hungary: December 22, 1938 * Egypt: January, 1939 * Hong Kong: January 16, 1941 * Spain: October 6, 1941 * Indonesia: August 13, 1945 * Afghanistan: September 8, 1945 * Austria: June 25, 1948 * Philippines: September 24, 1949 * West Germany: February 24, 1950 * Japan: September 26, 1950 * Guyana: February 14, 1953 * Taiwan: November 17, 1954 * Soviet Union: July 12, 1955 * Malaysia: January 10, 1956 * Israel: January 31, 1960 * Madagascar: July 26, 1960 * Morocco: January 1: 1964 * India: February 10, 1965 * Lebanon: July 30: 1966 * El Salvador: January 14, 1967 * Jamaica: May 27, 1973 * Syria: March 13, 1976 * Belarus: July 31, 1978 * Kuwait: June 11, 1984 * Trinidad & Tobago: September 20, 1997 * Greece: September, 2007 International titles * Albania: Borebardha dhe shtate xhuxhat * Argentina, Bolivia, Dominican Republic, Spain, Mexico, Peru & Venezuela: Blancanieves y los siete enanos * Bosnia & Herzegovina & Croatia: Snjeguljica i sedam patuljaka * Brazil & Portugal: Branca de Neve e os sete Anoes * Czechoslovakia: Snehulienka a sedem trpaslíkov * Czech Republic: Snehurka a sedm trpaslíku * Denmark: Snehvide og de syv dvaerge * Finnish: Lumikki ja seitsemän kääpiötä * France: Blanche Neige et les sept nains * Germany: Schneewittchen und die sieben Zwerge * Greece: I Hionati kai oi 7 nanoi * Hungary: Hofeherke es a het törpe * Iceland: Mjallhvít * India: Sno Oyit Te cevan tvarhptsaic * Iran: Sefid Barfi va Haft Kootoole * Italy: Biancaneve e i sette nani * Japan: 白雪姫 (Shirayuki-hime) * Lithuania: Snieguole ir septyni nykstukai * Malaysia: Snow White dan Tujuh Orang Kerdil * Netherlands: Sneeuwwitje en de zeven dwergen * Norway: Snehvit og de syv dvergene * Poland: Krolewna Sniezka I siedmiu krasnoludkow * Romania: Alba ca Zapada si cei sapte pitici * Serbia: Snezana I sedam patuljaka * Slovenia: Sneguljcica in sedem skratov * Sweden: Snövit och de sju dvärgarna * Thailand: Snow with laea khwan khaera thang ced * Turkey: Pamuk Prenses ve Yedi Cuce * Uruguay: Blancanieves y los siete enanitos International dubs For information about international dubs, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs/International. Category:1937 films Category:1930s American animated films Category:American musical films Category:Disney Princess Category:Films produced by Walt Disney Category:Film directed by David Hand Category:Films scores by Frank Churchill Category:Films scores by Leigh Harline Category:Films scores by Paul Smith Category:Walt Disney Animation Studios films Category:Walt Disney Pictures Category:Walt Disney Feature Animation Category:Films directed by David Hand Category:Film scores by Frank Churchill